Improvement in rulers



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN G. ERNST, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-THIRDS HIS RIGHT TO` THOMAS H. MDENISON, OF SAME PLAGE, AND A. J.

FISHER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN RULERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 140,125, dated June 24, 1873; application filed October 17', 1872.

To all lwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN G. EENsT, of the city of Baltimore, State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rulers; and do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification.

The object of my invention is to furnish, for the use of school children or students, a device, or an .article commonly known as a scholars companion, that shall be cheap, simple, and compact, containing ruler, pencils, pen-holders, sponge, 85e., arranged together so as to make said scholars companion an article of greater convenience and utility than is now offered. My invention consists in.the construction of a box oi' any convenient dimensions, with a detachable top, said top to be in the form of, and used as, a ruler, the box itselt` to be constructed within so as to form a convenient receptacle for pencils,y

`as a box-top; Fig. 2, a perspective view of box with ruler or top removed 5 Fig. 3,side view of same with ruler or top attached; Fig. 4, end view showing hinge'part e and clasp b for holding one end of top or ruler to the box; Fig. 5, end view showing button ozy securing the other end of top or ruler to the box; Fig. 6, showing sponge .E attached to lid or sponge holder D. v Y

B, Fig. 2, is a box, with its top removed, showing its interior arrangement of compartments for the reception of pencils, pen-holders, chalk, sponge-box, and such other like articles for the use and convenience of students. Attached to one end-of box B will be seen hinged clasp b, and to the other end xed holding stop or shoulder a.. Said hinge, clasp, and stop, when operated in connection with slots d d, Fig. 1, are for the purpose of securing ruler or top A upon box B, as shown in Fig. 3. G, Fig. 2, is a metal box, open at its top. This box is for the purpose of receiving and holding sponge E, the said box being provided with lid or cover D, to the under side oi which the sponge is secured and held. This sponge not only serves the ordinary purposes of the student,-but being elastic and expansive, and used larger than necessary to lill the area of box G, when placed in the box acts as a spring, forcing the cover or holder D up against ruler or top A in such a manner as to cause the hinged clasp b and button a to hold top or ruler A to its place upon box B with additional firmness and security. f

f, Fig. 2, are compartments or receptacles, divided by sponge-box G, for holding pencils, pen-holders, chalk, Src.; and, as it is not intended that box G shall be permanently located at any particular point within box B, its position can be readily shifted so as to divide the compartments f f into varied lengths, or make a continuous compartment of them.

The manner of securing ruler or top Ato box B, by means of button a, hinged clasp c, and slots d d, is so simple as to be readily comprehended. One of the slots d d is shoved beneath shoulder or button a, while the other is caught and secured by having hinged clasp b forced into it.

It will of course be understood that ruler or top A is not only secured to its place upon box B, as described, but it is also removable at will by simply releasing hinged clasp b.

Ruler or top A may be readily converted into a measuring-rulevby simply spacing its face oft' into inches, 8vo., after the manner of the ordinary rule, and thereby make it a further convenience for the use of scholars, without adding but slightly to the cost of the companion.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is The ruler A, secured to the box B by means of a iixed holding-stop, a, at one end and a hinged clasp, b, at the other, the said ruler having slots for the purpose, and the clasp arranged to prevent vertical or lateral displacement of the top, substantially as shown and described.

JOHN G. ERNST.

Witnesses:

C. H. SLICEE, JOHN P. FARDON. 

